Arcade chain Timezone has opened its largest outlet here, occupying some 22,000 sq ft of retail space in underground shopping strip Orchard Xchange. With some 160 activities, including bumper cars, a bowling alley and virtual reality (VR) gaming, the entertainment centre marks the latest tech-infused effort to rejuvenate the Orchard Road shopping district to better attract families and the Gen Z shopper.
The new centre is the only one of 16 Timezone outlets to offer VR games after such consoles were shifted out of its Jurong Point branch. Among the VR booths are games from popular franchises like King Kong of Skull Island and Rayman spin-off Virtual Rabbids.
Groups of players can team up to play one of six games in a dedicated VR corner, where they can don VR headsets and prop weapons to tackle hoards of robots in sci-fi shooter Attek, or race their friends in hoverboard simulator WingRun.
At $6 million under a five-year lease, the arcade is the largest investment made by Timezone here, said general manager Nesh Selva.